Economic data has taken a backseat to Fed speculation–or served as an excuse for offering opinions on the future course of policy. U.S. producer prices were unchanged, below forecasts for a a 0.03% increase, the kind of ho-hum data that would otherwise be ignored. Not now. Instead its a reason to offer opinions like this one from Capital Economics’ economist Paul Dales:

We doubt that July’s soft producer prices figures will force the Fed to conclude that the recent downward trend in core price pressures is more than temporary. Thanks in part to a 0.8% m/m fall in gasoline prices and a 3.9% m/m drop in electricity prices, overall producer prices were unchanged last month…More important was the weak 0.1% m/m increase in core prices, which was the third such rise in four months. That was partly due to a 0.2% m/m drop in apparel prices and a 1.1% m/m fall in passenger car prices. This suggests the downward trends in clothing and motor vehicle CPI inflation (data due tomorrow) are not over yet…But since core consumer price inflation has already fallen further than the core PPI would suggest, this may not translate into yet lower core CPI inflation. As such, we still think the Fed will start tapering QE3 next month.

And with CPI reported tomorrow, we’ll get to repeat the same exercise.

Newmont Mining (NEM) has gained 4.1% to $31.32 as gold has ticked up 0.2% to $1,323, while Weyerhaeuser (WY) has jumped 3.2% to $27.85 following reports that it’s gotten bids for its home-building division. Bank of America (BAC) is the Dow’s biggest gainer with a 1.2% increase to $14.69.

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Earnings reports, corporate strategies and analyst insights are all part of what moves stocks, and they’re all covered by the Stocks to Watch blog. We also look at macro issues, investor sentiments and hidden trends that are affecting the market. Stocks to Watch gives you the full picture of the U.S. stock markets, all day long.

The blog is written by Ben Levisohn, a former stock trader who has covered financial markets for the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg and BusinessWeek.